This invention relates to motor vehicle door handle assemblies and more particularly to a method of attaching a motor vehicle door handle assembly to the associated motor vehicle door structure.
Motor vehicles typically include one or more doors providing access to the interior of the vehicle and at least one door handle assembly mounted on an interior and/or exterior surface or skin of each door to control the opening and closing of the door. The door handle assembies are typically attached to the associated door utilizing various fastener mechanisms and various tools. Although the fastener mechanisms and tools are effective in securing the door handle assembly to the door, they require that a considerable amount of high priced labor be expended in attaching each door handle assembly to each associated door. In an effort to minimize the required labor, door handle assemblies have been proposed which allow the handle assembly to be attached to the door without the use of separate fastening devices or tools and with a minimum of labor. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,454 assigned to the Assignee of the present invention and U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,302. This invention provides an alternate method and structure for fastening a motor vehicle door handle assembly to a motor vehicle door without the use of fasteners or tools and with a minimum of labor.